MUTTON JOLLOF RICE RECIPE

Enjoy this decadent and flavour packed recipe with a nutty twist by Chef Fafa of 'Ndudu by Fafa' .  

Serves 6

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hr 30 minutes

Marinating : 3-24 hrs

Mutton 

Ingredients 

1.5kg of Mutton washed, cleaned and cut into sizeable chunks

Marinade;

30g of Ginger

1 large Onion cut into chunks 

1 teaspoon of Ajwan seeds

1 teaspoon of Coriander seeds

1 teaspoon of Cumin seeds

3 cloves of peeled Garlic

3 green chillies 

Method 

Place all the ingredients for the marinade in a blender.

Add about 40ml of water and blend to a smooth paste. 

Mix the marinade with the Mutton and fridge for a minimum of 3hrs. 

Tip:

Preferably marinating the mutton overnight is a better option. 

Transfer the marinated Mutton to a sauce pan and steam on a gentle heat for 25 minutes. 

Add 800ml of beef stock or water to the Mutton and cook for a further 30 minutes or until tender (still on a medium heat). 

Transfer it to a baking tray and reserve the stock for the Jollof rice. Bake the Mutton in a pre heated oven of 180*c for 35 minutes or until browned and set aside.

You should have about 250ml of Mutton stock left. 

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hr

Tomato sauce

Ingredients 

Add 200g of Tomato purée to 250ml of water. Mix to a smooth paste. 

800g of fresh sun ripened Tomato cut into chunks 

3 large Red peppers cut into chunks (optional)

20g of roughly chopped peeled Ginger

1 Habanero chilli (optional)

10g of crushed Guinean pepper or Grains of Paradise. 

Half a teaspoon of all spice

3 large Red Onions

50ml of Groundnut oil

1 Shrimp stock cube

1 tablespoonful of madras curry powder  (readily available in most Asian grocers).

1 teaspoon of wild thyme 

Salt and pepper to taste. 

Method;

Add the oil to a saucepan and place on a medium heat. 

Blend the onions, Grains of Paradise, Ginger and chillies into a paste. 

Add the 'Onion blend' to the oil and fry  for 6-8 minutes (till the volume reduces in half). 

Add the tomato purée and cook till it turns into a paste. This should take about  12-15 minutes. 

Blend the tomatoes and pepper till smooth. 

Add the tomatoes to the saucepan and stir till well mixed. 

Reduce the heat to a low setting and cook for 25 minutes, by which time the sauce has reduced by half.

Add the Madras curry, wild thyme, shrimp stock, Mutton and stir.

Cook for a further 15 minutes and constantly stir. Watch the sauce turn into a dark rich colour.

I prefer not to add salt to the sauce at this stage. 

The sauce is at it's best, 24hrs after cooking. This allows all the spices to infuse naturally. Making of this sauce is time consuming, hence I make a large portion to last a few weeks. 

Best to make the sauce before Christmas Day  (to reduce your cooking time on the the day).

This recipe makes 750g of sauce. 

Place the sauce in an airtight container and place it in the fridge till you need it. 

The sauce will keep in the fridge for 3 days, however it's best to freeze for no longer than a month.

Tip 

Personally I prefer to let my sauce rest for 

24hrs to enable the spices to infuse. Trust me, your Jollof will benefit from this natural process of infusion.

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Jollof rice;

Ingredients

750g of dark rich spicy tomato sauce

450g of aged Basmati rice 

Alternatively you can use Jasmin rice or long grain rice.

Half a teaspoon of grated nutmeg or mace (readily available in most supermarkets).

3 bay leaves

2 tablespoons of Coconut oil

250ml of Mutton stock

Salt to taste. 

Method 

Wash the rice till the water runs clear and soak it for about 15 minutes. 

Tip

The washing reduces the starch content of the rice hence achieving a perfect, separated and fluffy rice. 

 The soaking also cuts the cooking time in half and helps the rice to absorb the flavours of the sauce.

Add 500g of the tomato sauce to a heavy based saucepan or a claypot and place on a medium heat. 

Warm the sauce up for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally and add the washed rice. 

Fry the rice in the sauce for 6-8 minutes  (making sure the rice has absorbed the sauce and it's well coated).

Add your preferred stock or the Mutton stock, bay leaves, grated nutmeg, salt and stir. Add half of the baked Mutton to the rice and mix.

Once it starts to boil, lower the heat, cover with scrunched up baking paper, grease proof paper or foil  and finally cover with the lid. 

The whole point of this is to trap the steam in the saucepan and allow the rice to cook with little water. This will also intensify the flavour of the rice. 

Mix the remaining half of the Mutton with the remaining 250g of tomato sauce and set aside for later. 

Cook the rice for 20-22 minutes, till fluffy and el dente ( I prefer my rice to have a little bite). This is optional and you can steam it till it's completely soft but not soggy.

Turn the heat off and add the coconut oil to the rice and mix well. Cover the rice and leave it to continue cooking in it's steam for 5 minutes. The coconut oil brings all the flavours together by adding a nutty taste to the dish. Thank me later for the tip. 

To serve

Ingredients 

2 large sliced Shallots

125g of chopped Coriander 

1 teaspoon of Groundnut or Coconut oil

Half a teaspoon of Lime/Lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste. 

Method;

Add the oil to a frying pan and place on a medium heat. 

Add the sliced shallots and fry till it starts browning. (5-6 minutes)

Add the coriander and stir for 30 seconds 

Add the lime juice, salt and mix well for another 30 seconds and turn the heat off. 

Scoop your Jollof into a serving plate

Distribute the meat evenly (as shown below)

Sprinkle the onion and coriander mix over it. 

Warm the Mutton and sauce up and transfer to a serving bowl. 

Side dishes

Fried cubed Plantain

A chunky Avocado and sweet onion salad

Honey glazed roasted carrots

Ever decadent Ghanaian salad. 

Merry Christmas everyone and a big thank you for your continuous support. Enjoy!

Watch the Jollof video on my YouTube page 

 

All the photos and recipe are by the owner of this blog. Subscribe to my YouTube page for more recipes.